“I thought you meant in bed! I never—it never occurred to me that you meant or expected anything other than that.”
Aiden rose from the bed. He strode across the room to deposit his coffee mug on the dresser and stood there with his back to the room for a long moment. When he turned to face Mike again, his expression was hard, the usual sparkle missing from his golden eyes.
“You’re exactly like all the others. It’s fine to let the femme pretty boy tell you to lick his boots behind closed doors but in public everybody has to know that you’re the real man in the relationship.”
Mike mentally flinched. That accusation stung—mostly because there was a big barb of truth to it. “Even if I was on board with letting you take care of me, why should I trust you to honor what you say?”
“What does that mean?” Aiden asked with his jaw clenched so tight his lips barely moved.
“You rush into everything, Aiden! And rush out of things just as fast. You run headlong into fights, damn the consequences. And I remember what you said that night at the Fox—if a relationship isn’t fun you move on. If I give up my job and apartment for us to rush into living together and three months later the arrangement isn’t fun for you anymore then what? What am I supposed to do then? You’ll be fine to move on but I—.” Mike stopped. He crossed his arms over his chest, but Aiden wouldn’t let the sentence go unfinished.
“You what?” Aiden demanded.
There was a dare in Aiden’s question. Mike knew if he answered the wrong way, he might damage their relationship in a way that couldn’t be repaired. But he didn’t want to lie, so he said what he felt. “I don’t bounce back as fast as you.”
The words dropped between them, bringing with them a quiet as heavy and dense as a black hole.
When Aiden finally spoke, it was in a voice so low and hushed that the two words that left his mouth barely disrupted the thick blanket of silence.
“Get out.”
“What?” He asked the question even though he’d heard Aiden perfectly. It was more out of surprise than anything. Unfortunately, when Aiden repeated himself, he made it clear exactly what he meant.
“Get your shit and get out. I’m done with this conversation and I’m done with you. Wondering how fast I’ll jump out of this relationship? Well, guess what? I’ve just jumped.”
